Estimating Suspended Sediment Fluxes from the Largest Glacial Lake in Svalbard to Fjord System Using Sentinel-2 Data: Trebrevatnet Case Study

Glacier-fed hydrological systems in high latitude regions experience high seasonal variation in meltwater runoff. The peak in runoff usually coincides with the highest air temperatures which drive meltwater production. This process is often accompanied by the release of sediments from within the glacier system that are transported and suspended in high concentrations as they reach the proglacial realm. Sediment-laden meltwater is later transported to the marine environment and is expressed on the surface of fjords and coastal waters as sediment plumes. Direct monitoring of these processes requires complex and time-intensive fieldwork, meaning studies of these processes are rare. This paper demonstrates the seasonal dynamics of the Trebrevatnet lake complex and evolution of suspended sediment in the lake and sediment plumes in the adjacent Ekmanfjorden. We use the Normalized Difference Suspended Sediment Index (NDSSI) derived from multi-temporal Sentinel-2 images for the period between 2016–2021. We propose a new SSL index combining the areal extent of the sediment plume with the NDSSI for quantification of the sediment influx to the marine environment. The largest observed sediment plume was recorded on 30 July 2018 and extended to more than 40 km2 and a SSL index of 10.4. We identified the greatest sediment concentrations in the lake in the beginning of August, whereas the highest activity of the sediment plumes is concentrated at the end of July. The temporal pattern of these processes stays relatively stable throughout all ablation seasons studied. Sediment plumes observed with the use of optical satellite remote sensing data may be used as a proxy for meltwater runoff from the glacier-fed Trebrevatnet system. We have shown that remote-sensing-derived suspended sediment indexes can (after proper in situ calibration) serve for large scale quantification of sediment flux to fjord and coastal environments.

[1]  Dohyeong Kim,et al.  Morphodynamic evolution of paraglacial spit complexes on a tide-influenced Arctic fjord delta (Dicksonfjorden, Svalbard) , 2022, Marine Geology.

[2]  J. Kohler,et al.  Historical glacier change on Svalbard predicts doubling of mass loss by 2100 , 2022, Nature.

[3]  S. Marshall.  Regime Shifts in Glacier and Ice Sheet Response to Climate Change: Examples From the Northern Hemisphere , 2021, Frontiers in Climate.

[4]  C. Barbosa,et al.  A Chlorophyll-a Algorithm for Landsat-8 Based on Mixture Density Networks , 2021, Frontiers in Remote Sensing.

[5]  S. Kabir,et al.  Evaluating the effect of sediment color on water radiance and suspended sediment concentration using digital imagery , 2020 .

[6]  B. Jørgensen,et al.  Biogeochemistry and microbiology of high Arctic marine sediment ecosystems—Case study of Svalbard fjords , 2020, Limnology and Oceanography.

[7]  K. Isaksen,et al.  Revisiting the extended Svalbard Airport monthly temperature series, and the compiled corresponding daily series 1898–2018 , 2020 .

[8]  A. Kääb,et al.  Reconciling Svalbard Glacier Mass Balance , 2020, Frontiers in Earth Science.

[9]  Damir Medak,et al.  Impact of Various Atmospheric Corrections on Sentinel-2 Land Cover Classification Accuracy Using Machine Learning Classifiers , 2020, ISPRS Int. J. Geo Inf..

[10]  J. Kavan.  Early twentieth century evolution of Ferdinand glacier, Svalbard, based on historic photographs and structure-from-motion technique , 2020 .

[11]  I. Hewitt.  Subglacial Plumes , 2020 .

[12]  R. Noormets,et al.  Relating ocean temperatures to frontal ablation rates at Svalbard tidewater glaciers: Insights from glacier proximal datasets , 2019, Scientific Reports.

[13]  J. Kohler,et al.  Impact of tidewater glacier retreat on the fjord system: Modeling present and future circulation in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard , 2019, Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science.

[14]  A. Luckman,et al.  Calving controlled by melt-under-cutting: detailed calving styles revealed through time-lapse observations , 2019, Annals of Glaciology.

[15]  W. Fjeldskaar,et al.  Glaciers on Svalbard survived the Holocene thermal optimum , 2018, Quaternary Science Reviews.

[16]  W. Szczuciński,et al.  Spatiotemporal changes in the concentration and composition of suspended particulate matter in front of Hansbreen, a tidewater glacier in Svalbard , 2018, Oceanologia.

[17]  Paheding Sidike,et al.  Suspended Sediment Concentration Estimation from Landsat Imagery along the Lower Missouri and Middle Mississippi Rivers Using an Extreme Learning Machine , 2018, Remote. Sens..

[18]  J. Kohler,et al.  Subglacial discharge plume behaviour revealed by CTD-instrumented ringed seals , 2018, Scientific Reports.

[19]  Maria Huse Kvam.  Deposits and processes on the tide-influenced fjord-head delta in Dicksonfjorden, Svalbard , 2018 .

[20]  F. Bourrin,et al.  Suspended particle dynamics and fluxes in an Arctic fjord (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard) , 2018 .

[21]  Matthias Huss,et al.  Global-scale hydrological response to future glacier mass loss , 2018, Nature Climate Change.

[22]  A. Luckman,et al.  Rapidly changing subglacial hydrological pathways at a tidewater glacier revealed through simultaneous observations of water pressure, supraglacial lakes, meltwater plumes and surface velocities , 2017 .

[23]  I. Overeem,et al.  Delta progradation in Greenland driven by increasing glacial mass loss , 2017, Nature.

[24]  K. Láska,et al.  Air temperature variability in the vertical profile over the coastal area of Petuniabukta, central Spitsbergen , 2017 .

[25]  J. Chipman,et al.  Quantifying suspended sediment concentration in subglacial sediment plumes discharging from two Svalbard tidewater glaciers using Landsat-8 and in situ measurements , 2016 .

[26]  Assefa M. Melesse,et al.  A Comprehensive Review on Water Quality Parameters Estimation Using Remote Sensing Techniques , 2016, Sensors.

[27]  C. Scott Watson,et al.  The dynamics of supraglacial ponds in the Everest region, central Himalaya , 2016 .

[28]  Wesley R. Farnsworth,et al.  Over 400 previously undocumented Svalbard surge-type glaciers identified , 2016 .

[29]  R. Hawley,et al.  Subglacial hydrology at Rink Isbræ, West Greenland inferred from sediment plume appearance , 2016, Annals of Glaciology.

[30]  R. Mugford,et al.  Sediment‐rich meltwater plumes and ice‐proximal fans at the margins of modern and ancient tidewater glaciers: Observations and modelling , 2015 .

[31]  J. Jania,et al.  Seasonal and interannual variability in runoff from the Werenskioldbreen catchment, Spitsbergen , 2015 .

[32]  E. Darlington.  Meltwater delivery from the tidewater glacier Kronebreen to Kongsfjorden, Svalbard : insights from in-situ and remote-sensing analyses of sediment plumes , 2015 .

[33]  John J. Clague,et al.  Coupling glacial lake impact, dam breach, and flood processes: A modeling perspective , 2014 .

[34]  Ø. Nordli,et al.  Spatial distribution of air temperature on Svalbard during 1 year with campaign measurements , 2014 .

[35]  M. Ewertowski.  Recent transformations in the high‐arctic glacier landsystem, ragnarbreen, svalbard , 2014 .

[36]  Thomas V. Schuler,et al.  Severe cloud contamination of MODIS Land Surface Temperatures over an Arctic ice cap, Svalbard , 2014 .

[37]  K. Isaksen,et al.  Long-term temperature trends and variability on Spitsbergen: the extended Svalbard Airport temperature series, 1898–2012 , 2014 .

[38]  J. Kohler,et al.  The importance of tidewater glaciers for marine mammals and seabirds in Svalbard, Norway , 2014 .

[39]  B. Hudson,et al.  MODIS observed increase in duration and spatial extent of sediment plumes in Greenland fjords , 2013 .

[40]  C. Long,et al.  Remote sensing of suspended sediment concentration and hydrologic connectivity in a complex wetland environment. , 2013 .

[41]  K. Láska,et al.  Weather patterns of the coastal zone of Petuniabukta, central Spitsbergen in the period 2008–2010 , 2012 .

[42]  D. Lampkin,et al.  A preliminary investigation of the influence of basal and surface topography on supraglacial lake distribution near Jakobshavn Isbrae, western Greenland , 2011 .

[43]  J. Brigham‐Grette,et al.  Glacimarine sedimentation processes at Kronebreen and Kongsvegen, Svalbard , 2011, Journal of Glaciology.

[44]  J. Box,et al.  Hydrologic controls on coastal suspended sediment plumes around the Greenland Ice Sheet , 2011 .

[45]  F. Ng,et al.  Ice‐marginal sediment delivery to the surface of a high‐arctic glacier: austre brøggerbreen, svalbard , 2010 .

[46]  Zhaoming Zhang,et al.  A practical DOS model-based atmospheric correction algorithm , 2010 .

[47]  I. Overeem,et al.  Sediment plumes as a proxy for local ice-sheet runoff in Kangerlussuaq Fjord, West Greenland , 2010, Journal of Glaciology.

[48]  J. Scholten,et al.  Sediment accumulation rates in subpolar fjords - Impact of post-Little Ice Age glaciers retreat, Billefjorden, Svalbard , 2009 .

[49]  M. Zajączkowski.  Sediment supply and fluxes in glacial and outwash fjords, Kongsfjorden and Adventfjorden, Svalbard , 2008 .

[50]  K. Kjær,et al.  Quantification of dead‐ice melting in ice‐cored moraines at the high‐Arctic glacier Holmströmbreen, Svalbard , 2007 .

[51]  M. Włodarska‐Kowalczuk,et al.  Dynamic sedimentary environments of an Arctic glacier-fed river estuary (Adventfjorden, Svalbard). I. Flux, deposition, and sediment dynamics , 2007 .

[52]  I. Lønne,et al.  High‐arctic fan delta recording deglaciation and environment disequilibrium , 2004 .

[53]  J. Bogen,et al.  Erosion and sediment transport in High Arctic rivers, Svalbard , 2003 .

[54]  Arnold G. Dekker,et al.  Remote sensing, ecological water quality modelling and in situ measurements: a case study in shallow lakes , 1996 .